May 13, 2023 — Psalm 30

“I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” The By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.” Psalm 30

“The 30th psalm is a psalm of thanks in which the psalmist gives thanks that God has redeemed him from the high spiritual afflictions of the devil, which are sadness, depression, terror, despair, doubt, the perils of death, and similar poisonous, fiery darts of the devil. Nevertheless, the psalmist knows he has the comfort that God is only angry for the blink of an eye and neither desires nor wills our death or distress but desires rather to see us live and be joyful.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Luther calls this Psalm one of thanksgiving — for G-d has redeemed him from, not only the devil, but from depression, doubt, despair, and the perils of death, among many others. Now, notice neither the Psalmist nor Luther says the Psalmist is rescued from these — he says he is redeemed from them. Consider the Israelites — they were rescued from the persecution of the Egyptians, but they still struggled for forty years learning obedience from G-d. They were the chosen people of G-d, but their ultimate redemption would come through various trials and tribulations.

We are living in dark days — I have said that time and time again. These are difficult times – we see so much destruction and death in our communities and around the world. But these trials will also end. And we do know that we are redeemed — through the cross of Jesus Christ. We may weep for a time, but we also trust and know that our joy comes through our redemption as beloved children of G-d.

Prayer: Thanks to You, our Father in heaven, for the countless blessings You have bestowed on us from our childhood days. Thanks to You because You so often have been our Helper in spiritual and bodily need. As in the past, be with us in the future to give us a joyous heart, to uphold us in trials, to strengthen us in temptations, and to comfort us by Your Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Pastor Dave

May 12, 2023 — Psalm 29

“Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!”  The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” Psalm 29

“The 29th psalm is a prophecy of the Gospel, that it shall resound with power throughout the world and overthrow the wisdom and renown of all kings, princes, lords, and peoples, and Christ alone shall be the only King. He shall be served and glorified with true wisdom and holiness. Therefore, He established the flood, Baptism, in which the old Adam is drowned and the new man arises. He gives the name of deserts, forests, and deer to the lands of the earth that were under Jew or Gentile and that have been opened and converted to the Gospel.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

Ascribe to the Lord! In other words, let us attribute to or give to the Lord what is due. And what does the Psalmist say is due? Glory! Strength! Honor! Majesty! These are all things we know define our Lord — for the Lord is to be glorified — is our strength — deserves our honor — and continues to thunder in our lives. But do we always ascribe to the Lord the things that we should ascribe? Probably not. Too often we see how evil seems to win the day in our world, and in our lives — or too often the Devil gets his due, but the Lord is left behind. We are so quick to assign tribute to evil, but less willing to say that we have had a G-d moment or two throughout our day. I guess it all depends on how powerful we believe our G-d really is. The Psalmist says: “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.” That my friends is a powerful G-d.

So, many ascribe power to the Lord, but too many others believe that evil is more powerful than G-d. How do we change their minds? The Psalmist gives us the answer: “May the Lord give strength to his people!” We, the people of G-d, those who trust in the Lord, are given power and strength to face evil and fight the presence of the devil in our world. We are the people of G-d — and we should live as if the Lord is our strength.

Prayer: Thanks and praise be unto You, our God and Lord, for sending us the Gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in which You teach us the way of salvation and comfort us with the hope of everlasting life. Make Your Word in us a power of salvation, and the anchor of our souls in life and death. Cause also the voice of Your Word to be sounded abroad, that the nations that do not know You may come to Your light. Amen.

Pastor Dave